Sixty Days: Editor begins discussion on the P-I’s fate

OK, too much has been made, on various sites, of the guy in the background of that video (see below) of Hearst Newspaper Division President Steve Swartz telling the P-I staff that the newspaper will go up for sale.

P-I producer Jake Ellison decided Monday morning that we should keep track of how many days we have left and picked up a marker. This whiteboard is on a wall a few feet away from the spot where Hearst president Steve Swartz delivered his grim announcement Friday. (Mónica Guzmán/Seattle P-I)

I know, because that’s me – the guy who, as one poster put it, “doesn’t look like he’s missed any meals.” (Thanks a lot for that belly-level camera angle.)

Yes, it was an excruciating seven minutes. What that video doesn’t show, and what was the hardest for me, was the view from where I stood – the arrayed faces of an incredible staff. I hired many of them, promoted some of them, and have talked journalism at one time or another with every one of them. Their faces told much more than my fidgeting discomfiture did.

It’s a fine mess we find ourselves in – but I’m not giving up yet. This newspaper is for sale. No, it may not be the most attractive investment around (What is the most attractive investment around? Your 401k? Your house? Yeah, right) but that doesn’t mean we won’t find someone who cares about Seattle and about journalism, and sees promise where others see only loss.

Might we go online only? Yes, that’s a distinct possibility too, although that operation would inevitably be much, much smaller than our current newsroom, which is to say it will inevitably have to feature other content besides the kind of journalism that takes significant people resources to execute correctly.

Right now, I’m determinedly positive, but I’m not completely unrealistic. The chances of the arrival of a savior are not great.

Whatever happens, the next sixty days around here won’t be dull.

During that time, on this blog, we’ll try to give you a daily sense of what it feels like here in the newsroom as events unfold. Please excuse the navel-gazing aspect of this – we’ll try not to be narcissistic, but it is a story and we are in position to cover it. Our mission is to be frank and open, not self-congratulatory and maudlin.

Oh, one other thing – if you know anybody who’d like to buy a medium-sized newspaper with a distinguished past, a great present and an uncertain future, complete with a staff that’s modest in number and big league in talent, we’re all ears.